


The Son of Underworld

by MidnightBlue991102



Category: Heroes of Olympus - Fandom, HoO - Fandom, PJO - Fandom, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, Solangelo - Fandom, nico di angelo - Fandom, percy jackson - Fandom
Genre: Gen, Journey Through Tartarus, Tartarus, Underworld, challenge, fight, suffer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-09-23 07:20:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20336281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightBlue991102/pseuds/MidnightBlue991102
Summary: Nico di Angelo's journey through Tartarus which wasn't described in the book but it is undeniable that this arc deserves its own story. This is the story about how Nico ended up in Tartarus, what he faced, how he escaped and got captured. How did the son of Underworld survive the bottom abyss of the world?





	The Son of Underworld

Nico stood on the egde of the Styx, overlooking at his father’s palace. He felt angry, at Hades and at himself. He feft furious that Hades pushed him into this mess. Just one normal day, when Nico was wandering around aimlessly, Hades suddenly showed up and told him _You need to guide the Seven through this quest _, in a tone he probably used all the time when talking to his servant ghosts. 

And then Nico got angry at himself. He knew what he was getting himself into, yet he still did it. He knew this was a one way ticket. People didn’t talk about going into Tartarus and coming back. They only talked about going into Tartarus and getting destroyed, both physically and mentally, in that abyss of torture and nightmares. Yet, here he was, attempting something no one had ever done before. He had to find the Doors of Death and somehow returned to the mortal world, because apparently, according to his Father, as close as he was to the Underworld and the dead, his business in the human world was not over. 

Nico remembered his Father’s eyes when delivering the news. He was way past that phase when he desperately wanted Hades’ attention and recognition, so he pushed away the thought that those eyes were fill with sadness and worry. Nico didn’t need that in his conscience. There was no way in hell that Hades would even care about his well-being. He scolded himself for daydreaming even for just one second, and took another step forward. 

Even from afar, Nico could hear Tartarus’ whisper. Both Gaea and Tartarus were getting stronger. The moment Nico thought of finding the Doors of Death, Tartarus somehow sensed it. The feeling of dread and fear, that craziness that Nico never thought he had in him, the hilariousity of the impossible quest that anyone would just laugh it off, saying he was insane to even think of going into that place. The idea should have been funny. It should have been just another dream out of thousands of bad dreams Nico had. But it wasn’t. It was reality. He had to do it. The son of Hades, the only demigod with a strong connection to the Underworld, the king of ghosts, the ambassador of Pluto, the one for the job. It had to be him. Tartarus seemed to know that too. The moment Nico said goodbye to Hazel before she went on the quest with Percy, Nico felt a strange jolt inside of his body. His spine became ice cold, his breathing harden, as if something was drawing all the air out of his lung. Then, the earth opened up, dragged him down to this exact spot where he had been standing for an hour. 

That was the exact place where the Ghost King started out. He found out about his identity and power right at the edge of the Styx. He forged his own weapon here while thinking about the lesson he had while he was still at Camp Half-Blood. 

_“This is Celestial Bronze. All demigods use weapon made of this. Why don’t you choose your own weapon and we can start training any time soon?” _

At that moment, Nico couldn’t find a single weapon that felt right in his hand. The swords were either too heavy or too light, and they seemed to resist against his grip. The knives and javelins were no better. 

_ “Why don’t you try my bow and arrows? Maybe they’ll fit you.” _

A blond boy who was showing some other kids around offered his help. The kid seemed friendly and nice and had a beautiful smile. Nico hesitated for a second. He should have been excited. Learning about the Myths, learning that he was the child of one of the gods just a day ago he still thought were not real, he should have been ecstatic. Instead, the excitement stopped for a second. In that tiny second, he just knew he wouldn’t find anything there that belonged to him. 

_ “Um… Thank you, but I’m good.” _

_ “Are you sure?” _, the boy sounded surprised. Nico noticed he had the same shining light in his eyes, and Nico knew he was just as happy as Nico, happy to meet new faces and make new friends. 

_“Yes, I’m sure my destined weapon is here somewhere. Thank you.” _

Nico had smiled so widely that the blond boy bought it. He swung his bow across his shoulder and smiled back.

_ “Well, okay. My name is Will Solace, it’s very nice to meet you. If you still want to try my weapon, you’re totally welcomed to do so.” _

And then he was gone. And Nico was left with the pile of weapons he didn’t even bother to dig deeper into since he knew none of them would fit him. 

Until his Stygian Iron sword. 

Nico mentally laughed at himself. Even his weapon was different from all those other demigods’, as if he was meant to be isolated from everyone else. Was it always that way? Was it always destined that Nico would never belong in any world? Not the mortal world, and not even the demigod world. The demigods are always so comfortable with their Celestial Bronze weapons, but they cringed and stepped away when Nico with his Stygian Iron sword got close, even when he wasn’t drawing it. 

“Urg, stop with that depressing thought of you about your sword. It’s sickening me.”

Nico was startled by the voice and looked up. He was familiar with this voice anyway, but it’s not like he heard it every day. Besides, its cold and dreading feel still could make Nico jump. It was very smooth, and it flows right through his body like water. But, right when you were enjoying the sensation of being washed up by the water inside your body, the water froze and heated and choked you up to the core. If Nico wasn’t the son of Hades and used to voices of ghosts whispering and screaming all the time, he would’ve collapsed and held his neck, trying his best to throw up whatever frozen water inside his lung. 

“Styx.”

“Yes, here I am.”, the River answered. That’s not quite right. It’s the Goddess Styx speaking through the river, her embodiment. Sometimes Nico felt bad for her. People only knew the infamous river Styx and all the horrible tale that came along with it. Barely any of them knew Styx was actually an actual goddess. But who was he kidding? None of any others even remembered who he was or even cared that he existed anyway. 

“What do you mean by my thoughts about my sword?”

“You sword is made of Stygian Iron. My iron. We have a connection. It doesn’t matter if you dug the iron out of the river, it’s still a part of me. So whatever thought you have on your sword, I feel it too. And do you know how much sadness I feel every day, from mundane people already? I don't need a son of Hades breathing down my neck about his misery.”

_ Great. Rejected by one of the most rejected places in the whole world. His journey is starting very well. _

“Okay, I’m sorry. Won’t happen again.”

“Urg…”

Styx let out an exhausting sigh. Then she stayed silent. Nico was silent too. He was really bad at continuing conversations, if he even wanted to continue it. But, Styx spoke first.

“That sword, do you know what it can do?”

Nico frowned. Of course he had used the sword more than he could count. Different from Celestial Bronze which could vaporize monsters, Stygian Iron sucked out the life sources of his enemies and absorbed them. Each time Nico does that, the sword got stronger and more harmonious with him. That was also why monsters killed by his sword took longer to reincarnate than monsters killed by Celestial Bronze weapons. Their life sources were sucked out of them, so they died without any souls and purposes to return. Apparently, Tartarus always found a way to get them back. 

“This River, it doesn’t only exist for people to throw trash into it when they die or for you to make unbreakable vows. When people die, their most precious dreams die with them. And a piece of heart and love of their loved ones, their happy memories, their glorious moments, their every treasure, all of them are also washed away with them into the River Styx. And of course, into Stygian Iron.”

“What do you mean?” 

Nico demanded, but Styx remained silent. Nico waited for an answer, but Styx seemed to vanish into thin air. He was left alone, again. Nico sighed, realizing he had nothing to do here anymore. He had been stalling the moment for far too long. The world didn’t have time to wait, so he had to hurry. 

Nico turned left at the back of his Father’s palace. This place had become familiar with him these couples of years, and there was always someone there waiting for him. Catching the glimpse of the glowing body, Nico tried to gather up a smile to put on his face. However, as always, the other one always knew Nico was coming even though Nico never made a sound. He quickly dropped the enormous broom he was holding and leapt to Nico’s direction.

“Nico!”

“Hey, Bob.”

Nico managed a smile. His heart was racing faster. A trick of sweat made its way to Nico’s chin. Tartarus knew. He knew Nico would be visiting Bob last, right before he stepped foot into the giant hole outside of the palace to enter the eternal abyss of darkness and insanity. Nico heard Tartarus calling for him, his feet slowly turning to Tartarus’s direction. Nico would have turned away if Bob didn’t gather him up in a rib-breaking hug. 

“Ouch, Bob…”

“Sorry. Bob misses friend.”

“Yeah, I miss you too.”

Nico smiled gently. Before meeting Bob, Nico never thought he would ever be gentle to anyone, let alone a Titan. Yet here he was, trying to treat Bob as nicely as possible because of the never-faded guilt about what they had done to Bob many years ago. 

Bob led him to their usual spot. It was a small cave, at least, small for Bob. For Nico, it was gigantic. There was not much in the cave except for a messy bed and a pile of burnt woods. Different types of brooms lined up the wall. Nico felt like somebody punched his chest every time he looked at where Bob lived. It didn’t feel right.

“I’m sorry, Bob. I tried to talk to my Father about your living condition…”

“It’s okay. As long as Nico comes here often.”

Bob tried to sound cheerful, or he was genuinely cheerful but his Titan tone made it impossible for the fun to actually come out, but Nico didn’t feel any better. He could already hear Tartarus’ whisper. _It’s your fault. You erased his memories and left him trapped here. _

“Shut the hell up!”

Nico shouted. His chest was burning, his face getting hotter, and Nico could feel the air inside his brain was twisting, as if they were trying to escape from his head and literally make his head explode. Bob turned to Nico, looking terrified. Nico quickly held up his hand.

“Sorry… That wasn’t meant for you…”

“Bob know.”

Bob sounded understanding, which made Nico grateful. The first time Nico went down to visit Bob, he was heart-broken. Bob was sitting alone on a rock, looking up and counting something. Of course, there was nothing there. There was only darkness and death, the air filled with guilt and toxic, yet Bob seemed so into it. He looked… desperate, like he was looking for something that wouldn’t show up. He looked so lonely even Nico felt hurt just by looking at him. 

The moment Nico said Hi, Bob’s eyes went wide with surprise and happiness. They spent all night talking, even though it was mostly Bob who talked and Nico listened. Ever since, Nico had spared his time to visit Bob as much as he could. As much as Bob considered Nico a good friend of his, Nico slowly became fond of the former Titan and enjoyed his company. 

Nico sometimes looked at Bob and wondered. Of course, Nico knew all about the river Lethe. It doesn’t only erase memories, it is the embodiment of a new start. A person who wishes to be reborn would step into the water and have their memories removed. They would be born as a new baby, an innocent and beautiful soul which hasn’t been stained by all the dirtiness of the world. It brings out people’s truest and purest nature: their inner beauty, their best side, their instinct to follow the good and stay away from the bad. Nico wondered if the inside of Bob was the same. Bob was also washed by the Lethe and became the friendliest of the friendly people. What if Bob’s true nature had always been like that? What if Bob had always been good, or at least destined to be good, but he was unfortunate enough to be born as a Titan and forced to become evil because it was simply how Titans were going to turn out? If so, would it make pushing Bob into the Lethe River a good thing? Did Nico, Percy and Thalia did a good deed by bringing out his true nature of a good Titan? If it was, why did Nico still feel so guilty about stripping away the Titan’s memory? 

Bob took a long look at Nico, as if he was trying to see through him and read what Nico had in mind. Nico tried to look the other way. He came here to say goodbye, possibly the actual last goodbye because he had no hope that he would survive Tartarus. Somehow, it was so hard to do. Nico fidgeted with his skull ring, mouth opened and closed, still couldn’t form one word. 

“Nico is going to Tartarus, right?”

Nico’s head snapped right up. He stared at Bob, breathless.

“H . . . How do you know?”

“Tartarus calls.”

“Calls?”

“Calls.”

Nico’s inside churned, his head spinned. He had to put his hand over his mouth to prevent himself from throwing up. So it wasn’t just Nico’s imagination. Tartarus had really been calling for Nico, trying to pull Nico down to its core. Nico knew he would finally give in and let his feet follow Tartarus’ calling without hesitation. 

“Let Bob come.”

Bob’s voice pulled Nico back to reality. He frowned.

“What?”

“Let Bob come. Bob can help.”

“No, Bob…”

“Nico is friend. Good friend. And friends help each other.”

Suddenly Nico wanted to cry. He had never been this soft since Bianca died. He never showed weakness to anyone, yet he was nearly bawling his eyes out because the ex-evil Titan was ready to risk his life for him. It was something Nico never thought would happen. 

“No… Bob, I can’t put you in danger.”

“But…”

“No! Please… Please, just stay here”.

As soon as Nico said it, he realized he was screaming. Bob didn’t even try to hide his disappointment. He looked down, clearly worried and upset. Nico knew Bob wasn’t sad for being yelled at. He was sad because he figured nothing would change Nico’s mind. Nico would go to Tartarus alone, as he was destined to do. 

“I’m sorry, Bob… But you can’t go with me. It’s dangerous down there, you know that. If I die down there, I die. I can’t let anyone die with me just because they want to protect me.”

“Nico’s not going to die.”

Bob’s starting to sob. Nico quickly placed his hand on Bob’s shoulder and bit his lips.

“Hey, don’t be down. You still can help me up here, you know that, right?”

“Y… Yes. Help Percy. Because Percy is friend.” 

“That’s right. Help Percy, because Percy is a friend.”

Nico nodded. His hand started to tremble. He withdrew it fast so Bob wouldn’t notice. Nico felt guilty about knowing too much. Living among ghosts, he heard whispers. A lot of them. He already knew way more than he should have. He knew about the existence of both camps when everyone else was still oblivious but he had to keep his mouth shut if he wanted to prevent a war. He knew about the horrible fates of Percy and Annabeth, yet he kept his mouth shut again because he knew the Seven would do everything to prevent that from happening. All he could do was to ask Bob to help Percy. And he still felt guilty about that. He felt like he was using Bob, and probably sacrificing Bob for someone who wouldn’t even care if he lived or died. Nico found it hard to breathe again. There was so much guilt piling up in his chest, blocking his lung from functioning. His eyes started to water. As of right now, heading down to Tartarus somehow seemed like a great idea. If he died down there, he would be freed from all of these thoughts and sufferings. The idea sounded so good, so tempting. 

Suddenly, Nico remembered something. He dug inside his pocket and pulled out a jar. It was filled with waves of darkness, slowly flowing and swirling inside the tiny space. Standing out on the dark background was thousands, maybe millions of twinkling little dots. Each wave of darkness also carried the dots to float with it, the light constantly changed, suddenly created a little galaxy within the Underworld. 

“I forgot. Here, for you.”

Nico handed Bob the jar. Bob took it with extreme care, eyes wide with excitement. Nico smiled.

“You told me you missed the stars.”

“I did.”

“Well I can’t literally bring the whole sky down for you. But I knew some ghosts who used to be witches. I pulled some favors, they taught me some tricks. I know it’s nothing compared to the actual sky, but…”

“Thank you. Bob loves it!”

Bob’s voice was a little too loud for Nico’s ears, but he didn’t care. He was busy watching the glowing Titan jumping up and down with the little jar in his hands. The jar looked so tiny Bob could literally crush it with two fingers. But Bob was extra careful, holding the jar as if it was the most precious possession in his entire life. 

“Do you really miss the stars? I mean… like, really remember how they were and miss how they looked?”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Bob admitted, “Bob can’t remember watching them, but Bob remembers they were beautiful.” 

Nico looked the other way. He completely understood how it felt to live a lie, to have your entire life taken away from you, to have your memory twisted and confused, to try to remember your past life but all you could gather were bits and pieces that didn’t really make sense whatsoever. 

“I really hope you’ll see the stars again, Bob.”

“Nico…”

“I have to go. Please take care. And protect Percy.”

Nico spoke without pause. He feared that one more second outside of Tartarus would pull him back to the ground and abandon his mission. He couldn’t do that. With the last glimpse of Bob’s worried face, Nico vanished into the shadow. When everything was clear again, he was standing at the edge of the burning hole, feeling his soul being sucked down to its bottom. Then, Nico realized it wasn’t his imagination. For a split second, he saw himself, but a transparent version of him, flying head down into the hole without any hesitation. Then, he fell into the abyss too. No resistance, no fighting, no second thought. His body kept falling. His face burnt by the toxic gas filled in the air. His ears filled with screaming. Something slipped past his arm and left a small scratch on his skin, but it hurt like his body was being pierced through by thousands of swords. His throat dry like he had just swallowed million gallons of sands. His blood stopped flowing, leaving his skin withered. Nico didn’t even have time to get terrified since his energy was completely drained out. Eyes blurry with the last thing he saw being the never-ending way to the bottom of Tartarus, Nico got ready for his death.


End file.
